I pursed my lips and replied, “No. I’m fine, don’t worry about me.”
“I want to see you.” He sounded like he was trying to stifle his emotions.
I want to see you.
It’s been a long time since I heard such sentimental words. I smiled as my heart filled with warmth.
“I’m fine, Ashton. Really.” I had wanted to tell him to live our own lives separately, but I knew that it would inevitably anger him.
“I’m not fine.” He sounded grouchy and emotional at the end of his tether. “Scarlett, everyone has their limits. I let you go when you wanted to leave. I was even willing to wait for you here. But you can’t continue to be away like this. The night-time loneliness is killing me and I don’t want to count on my memories to get past the nights. I want to see you, and I mean now.”
I was dumbfounded for a moment. This was the first time for me to hear Ashton pouring out his feelings with no reservations, and his voice had an edge to it.
If he was in front of me at this moment, I would have pulled him into a tight embrace and tell him that I miss him too.
“Thank you for taking good care of Summer, Ashton.” I changed the subject. I was afraid that I would not be able to control myself and tell him that I missed him. I was also afraid that if I were to appear in his life again, his world would be turned upside down.
He should be living a happy, married life, surrounded by children. But I was unable to give him a happy marriage, and I couldn’t even bear him any children. Leaving him was the best choice.
I could hear him asking in a rough voice, “Are you punishing me, Scarlett? If so, then tell me what I need to do so that you’ll come back to me?”
I was stunned and didn’t know what else to say. After a moment of silence, I decided to end the call as I was afraid to continue having this conversation with him. “I have to go, Ashton. I’m hanging up now.”
And with that, I hung up the phone and felt the sudden urge to cry. When did I become such a coward?
How pathetic!
Back at the company, Armond looked at me and asked irritably, “Scarlett, care to explain yourself?”
It was supposed to be a one-hour lunch break, but I ended up spending two hours making a police report. I was terribly late by the time I made it back to the office.
There was a deep frown on his face, he was clearly upset.
I told him everything, sparing no details, but he was still angry. “Whatever it is, it’s irresponsible of you to leave your post during working hours.”
I apologized profusely for my behavior. Knowing that he was angry, I chose to stay silent.
When he saw that I remained silent after being chastised, he stopped himself and said, “Go to Linda for handover. You’re considered skipping work for today.”
I was dumbfounded. I was away from work for an hour, and that’s considered skipping work? These capitalists are vicious!
After all, he’s the boss, and I made a mistake. No excuses there.
After handing over the work to Linda, Nora called.
“Do you have any plan tonight, Scarlett? Let’s have dinner.”
I thought for a while and said dejectedly, “Actually, I really want to go to dinner with you. But I might have something on tonight.”
Armond had said that I would need to be on call twenty-four hours a day, and there’s no telling when exactly he was going to call me.
“Oh!” She sounded disappointed. “What’s occupying your time? I’ve made plans to meet up with Tabitha and Laurel, and we’re going to Zero Degrees tonight. After our near-death experience, what can be more important than being alive and happy? You’d better not turn me down.”
I chuckled and said, “I’m not turning you down, Nora. I’m serious. I’m working in Armond’s company as his secretary. And I must be on call twenty-four hours a day. I can’t just leave.”
She sighed and asked, “You’re a secretary? Being on call for twenty-four hours a day, does that mean you’re involved in every aspect of his life?”
“Thinking about it, that sounds like it.” After all, I had to cook breakfast and dinner. That’s pretty much everything.
“Holy cr*p!” She exclaimed excitedly. “Why does it sound like you’re in an idol drama? Could it be that Armond is attracted to you?”
I nearly choked on my own saliva after hearing that. I coughed and said, “You’re thinking too much. I’m working for him because I’m short of money.”
“Tsk!” She started to be nosy. “It’s not that I’m thinking too much. It’s just that I can’t help but think that your scenario is similar to those in idol dramas.”
She paused and then continued, “By the way, when are you going back to K City? You said you’re short of money, why don’t I give you some…”
Stopping mid-sentence, there was a slight pause before she continued, “That’s not right. Didn’t you say that you’re married? Shouldn’t you be going back to your husband instead? Why are you in Mr. Murphy’s company?”
Just then, I didn’t know what to say. So I avoided her questions by saying, “I have to go. I’m going to hang up now. Let’s meet up next time.”
